Junípero Serra, a Majorcan Franciscan, had been…
July 1769 CE
Junípero Serra, a Majorcan Franciscan, had been named "Father Presidente" After King Charles III had ordered the Jesuits expelled from "New Spain" on February 3, 1768.
The Spanish Visitor General, José de Gálvez, had in May 1768 planned a four-prong expedition to settle Alta California, two by sea and two by land, which Gaspar de Portolà had volunteered to command.
The Portolà party, the first overland exploration of the northwestern portion of the state, arrives at the site of present-day San Diego on June 29, 1769, where it establishes the Presidio of San Diego.
Serra founds San Diego de Alcalá on July 16 as the first of what is to be the twenty-one missions of the the Alta California chain.